Supplimentary/Additional LORS?

[ferral]

Does anyone know if there are any other schools besides Cornell that require additional letters of recommendation or supplimental material from recommenders? Also, when should recommendation suppliments or additional recommendations for Cornell (or other schools if applicable) be sent? Post-VMCAS completion? Pre? Doesn't matter?

Thanks!

(trying to figure out timing for asking for recommendations etc)

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[TCVM808]

Ohio State requires a "[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]minimum of 80 hours of work experience with one veterinarian" and requires a signed form to be completed by said veterinarian. However, I don't think this needs to be done until you have been invited to fill out the supplemental application (post-VMCAS).
.

 

[ferral]

Thanks TCVM808!

So, maybe I should clarify which schools I'm potentially interested in applying too

UC Davis
Western
Washington State University
Colorado State University
Wisconsin
Louisiana State U
UPENN
Tufts
Cornell

 

[nyanko]

UCD has no supplemental anything. Just the VMCAS.

 

[athenaparthenos]

I applied to the first 4 of your schools, and they did not require any extra LORs, just the 3 from VMCAS. CSU does require their LORs to be electronic but that's the extent of it. WSU has an optional supplemental app, or you can just use the VMCAS, and Western has a required supplemental app. But no weird stuff regarding the LORs.

 

[VAgirl]

UCD has no supplemental anything. Just the VMCAS.

Actually, they have optional supplemental forms (two, maybe?). They're really just spaces to write another essay on a specific issue. One is where you can discuss any disadvantages you've had to face. The other is where you can discuss any non-traditional (though they use a different word) career goals you may have. I think they specifically call out food animal, wildlife, poultry, and maybe some others. I filled that one out...I thought it was a great way to get to show them more about my different career interests (infectious diseases, probably of food/herd animals).

Nyanko, maybe that would be a good idea for you to write a supplemental essay next time on your research interests and goals.

 

[cateyes]

Cornell definitely requires extra supplemental material. They want a letter of evaluation (I believe there's a form on their additional forms page, but admissions said a letter works just as well)from every single animal or veterinary experience that you give- otherwise they will discount that experience.
I asked for mine as soon as the VMCAS application was available, because it was closing in on summer and some of the people were going away. I just asked my evaluators to let me know when they sent it, and then I checked the online tracking page to see if it had been recieved- if it hadn't been after 2 weeks or so, I called.
I was continuously calling the school because they kept "loosing" my application materials (GRE scores, residency form, biochemistry syllabus, and even one evaluator letter), so definitely be on the ball with them. It was my third year applying and I'd never had a problem with them before, but it can happen, so be aware...they always managed to find things after I called and told them when it was sent/received and by who if possible

 

[nyanko]

Nyanko, maybe that would be a good idea for you to write a supplemental essay next time on your research interests and goals.

Yeah, I didn't count those as supplemental (in the traditional sense in which it's being used here) since they are optional but I guess that's exactly what they are anyway, seeing as how they do indeed supplement your application. I wrote a career diversity essay but it never made it into my application file, somehow, and by the time I asked about it, it was a little too late.

 

[VAgirl]

I wrote a career diversity essay but it never made it into my application file, somehow, and by the time I asked about it, it was a little too late.

Ok, well that just sucks. When did you find out it was missing?

 

[cows93]

For U Penn all you do is the VMCAS. They will send an additional postcard with questions of your interest after receiving your
VMCAS application.

U Wisconsin does have a supplemental form 2 actually but both are simple and straightforward.

Cornell is the only school I've applied to that required additional LOR's. I did a total of 2 extra plus the 3 LOR's with VMCAS I thought that would be enough. It seems from other things that if you can get more (& I know I could have) you should send them in. Hope this helps

 

[Angelo84]

Tufts has an entirely seperate application. So tell your evaluators to save their letters!

 

[ferral]

Tufts has an entirely seperate application. So tell your evaluators to save their letters!

Good to know!!!!
Thanks

 

[nyanko]

Ok, well that just sucks. When did you find out it was missing?

When I saw people on here getting "application complete" notifications, I called them and asked them about mine, and they said that they hadn't gotten to it yet and first the guy said that they weren't sending those out this year and were only sending emails if they were missing something (I think I posted about this in the "keeping each other updated" thread). So I was like "uh alright" and then when other people kept getting the letters I called again to ask, and he said they'd go out by the end of that week. Well, my grandpa died soon thereafter (this was in December) and I had to fly back to PA and (for a little while) actually forgot about the whole thing with UCD. Then I got back here and hadn't gotten it yet, and it was a whole 2 weeks after they'd said it would go out. I got it on Dec. 27 and it said I was missing my GRE scores (I also had a hassle with ETS about an address change and them not having sent all of my scores, which was ALSO posted about on here somewhere). So this was around the holidays and it was hard to get ahold of all these people, and by the time I finally got someone to send the GRE scores the whole 10 days they'd given me had almost elapsed, so I called UCD and told them that my scores would not get there in time, but it was the fault of ETS. They said to bring the unofficial score report to the office, and that it was the very last day I could do it because the applications were going into review after that. This was January 9th. I brought the report into the office and asked while I was standing in front of the guy if they had my career diversity essay. He said "no, but that's optional so it's not necessary." and I was just like ughhhh, but it was like 4 pm and I didn't really have time to deal with it properly so I left.

That's my awesome story. Hope that next time I apply with them goes a little better.